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Opinion | Israel-Gaza war: Hong Kong faithful shaken to the core by violence
- The links between Hong Kong’s Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities and the Holy Land mean the city has deeply felt the effects of recent events there
- The best hope for peace remains a two-state solution. First, the peaceable majority must be given the chance of a better life
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Just about the whole of Hong Kong has been transfixed during the past two weeks by events taking place in the Middle East. This is not surprising when you consider the extensive links between our city and that part of the world.
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For one thing, Hong Kong has a small but long-established Jewish community of about 5,000 people which is naturally supportive of Israel. Many of us have friends among its members. The Israeli chamber of commerce is a substantial one, and we are an obvious location for business dealings between its enterprises and mainland ones, which sometimes go more smoothly on neutral ground.
Twenty years ago, as head of InvestHK, I visited Israel many times to target tech and trading companies in particular. There is also a fine Jewish secondary school in Shau Kei Wan which is open to students of all faiths. Full disclosure: my youngest son attended there after the local school system did not detect his dyslexia, was steered successfully to his International Baccalaureate and is now in his final year at university.
We also have a substantial Muslim community of some 300,000 people, originally a mixture of Pakistani and Chinese origin but buttressed in recent years by a large number of Indonesian domestic workers. They tend to be more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
There is also a large local Christian community of more than a million people, which takes a great interest in the Holy Land. Many of its members go on pilgrimages there. The Anglican community in Hong Kong in particular has been deeply involved in supporting various charitable works, such as the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre and the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
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Hundreds killed in Gaza hospital blast, Israel and Hamas trade blame
Hundreds killed in Gaza hospital blast, Israel and Hamas trade blame
Work was almost complete earlier this month on a rehabilitation unit in Gaza to provide services for children with disabilities. This was wiped out a few days ago in the destruction of the adjacent hospital.
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